Okay, based upon the (sarcasm alert) overwhelming response I got when asking how many forum members had read the Narnia book series, I decided I might as well burden the Mint community again by asking.... (drum roll)...
How many of you have seen the 3 Narnia movies Disney/whoever put out in the last decade, and what did you think of them?
SPOILER ALERT!
My opinions:
1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Very nice. Perhaps a bit of a departure from reality in that the Pevensies would likely have been extincted on the battlefield--after they somehow survived being tracked down by killer wolves and plunged into icy rivers which should have given them all hypothermia/pnuemonia--and there were a few shots where CGI shown through in all of its fake glory.
Still, I rather liked it. It didn't depart too greatly from the book (always a plus for me), and it was nicely done, I think. I'd definitely put it on my top 10 list.
2. Prince Caspian. So this one departed from the book a great deal. Normally, I'd count points off, but IMHO the book was so weak, the movie needed to retell the story. (Sorry).
It was particularly nice, in an odd way, to have them lose on taking Miraz's castle the first time. In the books, they never lost a battle, and that puts kind of a halo of invincibility around the Pevensies. To force the characters to face their own vulnerabilities added to the believability of the movie.
I also liked how the director added Peter's character struggles into the plot. I think that perhaps Lewis had placed Edmund in a catagory off to the side of the others--sort of made him into the person everyone wispers about--due to his unfortunate alliance in The Lion,.... So to have Peter show that he too was fully human and made mistakes was good.
Oh, and the CGIs were much better.
3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Didn't care for it, actually. Too different from the book--it felt as if the director needed to lump all the books adventures onto a single island or two so he could get on with his creepy green mist plot.
But in my opinion Lewis had redeemed himself and the series by Dawn Treader, and it didn't need much reworking.
Also, magic swords? Seriously? And where was the scene where Caspian loses his temper? Lewis had done with Caspian what the director of Prince Caspian had done with Peter--shown his humanity.
I had always felt perhaps the the character of Caspian was inspired by David from the Bible, so to only show C's good side, and very little of the bad, was a personal disappointment. The director did have him and Edmund a bit at odds, of course, but it felt and looked like acting (to me).
Was anyone else underwhelmed by the whole green mist idea?
With that said, the last scene (and of course, it would be the last scene) was good, and a little bit sad. If the whole movie had been up to the quality of the last bit, it would have been much better.
Anyone else?
PS. If you have read the books--any or all of them--feel free to vote and leave a review here: http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=190065
Narnia Movies
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- Fred Barclay
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Narnia Movies
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Re: Narnia Movies
I've seen the movies with family; wouldn't have watched the 2nd or 3rd movie on my own. I flipped through the books but didn't care for the writing style or voice so I've not read the books. Not my cup of tea. To each his own
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Re: Narnia Movies
I remember the really really old WonderWorks Narnia series. Despite having awful cutouts and terrible special effects, I remember they remained pretty true to spirit of the source material. I have fond memories of them.
I don't remember too much in specific about the new ones. I watched them all, but none of them struck me as "really good".
One problem that is paramount is that they all suffer from "Want To Be Lord of The Rings" syndrome. They devote the last 1/3 of the movie to a massive battle. Only they forgot to make that battle fit in the overall narrative.
In particular I remember The Dawn Treader starting really good. Then halfway through they discover Peter's sword, which is now a glowy lightsaber with special powers, and the entire plot goes straight to WTFville.
I don't remember too much in specific about the new ones. I watched them all, but none of them struck me as "really good".
One problem that is paramount is that they all suffer from "Want To Be Lord of The Rings" syndrome. They devote the last 1/3 of the movie to a massive battle. Only they forgot to make that battle fit in the overall narrative.
In particular I remember The Dawn Treader starting really good. Then halfway through they discover Peter's sword, which is now a glowy lightsaber with special powers, and the entire plot goes straight to WTFville.
Re: Narnia Movies
Narnia Movies are... kind of weird for me. I don't even know I like it or i don't. It's just... weird.